Menu Icon


Looking for homebrewing gift ideas? Check out our previous gift guides here or here!
Also, if you enjoy BrewUnited, please consider doing your Amazon shopping via our affiliate link!



You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> Brewing Forum --> Recipe Discussion --> Terry Pratchett Theme'd brew

Jump to:    1   
mchrispen
Bastrop, TX
485 Posts


I have a question... a friend and I are each doing something outrageous. Brewing a beer designed specifically to match to one of our favorite Pratchett Discworld characters.

His is going to be a bitter black lager for Death.

I am doing an homage to Granny Weathersmith. A gruit named Hag O' Hag's Mac Feagle Repellent. Using as many foraged herbs, but really scrambling for something to bitter (no hops!). Open to suggestions as this is really out of my comfort zone! I have some spices I can use, but planning to use some spruce, rosemary and elderberries - and a large dose of honey to dry it out. I want some strong aromatics - like the rosemary.

Anyone have experience bittering with herbs? When I get it done, will post the recipe for the fun of it... assuming it is not toxic and palatable.




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by mchrispen

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Don't be like that one reddit guy who had to go to the hospital after foraging what he thought were spruce tips...



Posted 34 days ago.

mchrispen
Bastrop, TX
485 Posts


Going to make Chris Colby try it first over a Netflix showing of a Discworld movie... 



Posted 34 days ago.

ingoogni
nl
314 Posts


Dandelion roots and (young) leaves, Chicory roots, Aloe leaves ground to a paste, Tansy leaves and flowers, Common or Scotch Broom tips of young twigs, Centaurium all but the roots, Common Scurvygrass leaves before blosseming, Ash leaves and bark, Yellow Gentian root, Glechoma hederacea (ground ivy) leaves, Iris root, Menyanthes leaves, Quassia amara bark.





Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by ingoogni

mchrispen
Bastrop, TX
485 Posts


well that is quite a list...

Dandelion, I had forgotten about that - good idea. Going to have to look up some of those others... I am in a weird part of Texas.




Posted 34 days ago.

mchrispen
Bastrop, TX
485 Posts


Ok, ran a test batch. I need to redo my Equip Profile for BIAB cause the volumes were way off... and something hicupped on the gravity prediction.

Here's the basic recipe - fermenting now and smells pretty nice, but will also dry/herb to increase the aromatics when it is done.

1.25 gallon batch

2.5# Red X (I needed to use up some crushed in adjusting my mill)
3/4 Honey
Handfull of Fresh Rosemary and Rosemary flowers, Fresh Cloud Sage and Witch Hazel leaves in the mash

note - I had to add some DME to get my gravity to around 1.075 because my boil off was way to low on the stove

2 g Licorice Root - 60 minutes
1 g Anise Seed - 60 minutes
10 g fresh Ginger Root, sliced

12 g Elderberries - 30 minutes

5 g Fresh Rosemary & Flowers
3 g Cloud Sage
9 g Witch Hazel leaves
30 g fresh Ginger Root, sliced

1 gallon is pitched with S-04 and the remaining quart was innoculated with dregs from my sour collection jar. I plan to blend these at packaging as I doubt Granny W would have access to a clean yeast - more likely lacto from canning, cheese and bread starters.

Both are fermenting away. Surprisingly the ginger aroma is quite low. There is a slight menthol note from the witch hazel. The gravity sample was very sweet of course, so will see how this tastes when it is dry.

So I foraged only what I could find in my yard and had either a medicinal or herbal use without any risk of poison. I was warned away from using our local cedar berries as they are quite bitter and there is some concern that our spanish cedars may have some alkaloid precursors in the bark and leaves. The rest was old stuff laying around in my brewing bin...






Posted 34 days ago.

Jump to:    1